The Unlikely Confidant
by theinsufferableprincess
Summary: Hermione didn't know what to expect when she came back to complete her seventh year, but it certainly wasn't this. A dangerous encounter in the night ends in obliviation, but a few months later, the situation comes to light through a small baby bump she can't manage to hide. However, an unlikely confidant manages to come to her side. *mature themes: rape, self harm etc. M (AU)
1. Lucky Ones

**Hello everyone and welcome to 'The Unlikely Confidant'. I hope you enjoy this story and as always review to let me know if you are enjoying it, frustrated with something etc. This is my first story so helpful tips would be great if you find something is an issue and needs attention.**

 **Im writing this story as a means of therapy and simply for my enjoyment. I was not originally planning to publish this story but I realised that some of you might find this entertaining, so i've decided to let you all read. I may not be the best writer here, or even close to it, but I still thought someone might like it :)**

 ***Disclaimer***

 **I do not own Harry Potter, if i did Severus Snape would not be dead.**

 **Later on this story deals with sexual assault and self harm etc. I** **will** **mark the areas where this occurs. Please use discretion and not read these parts if you find yourself feeling uncomfortable with stories that mention these. I want all of you to feel safe and comfortable.**

 **Hope you enjoy!**

She threw her arms around Harry. Her face lit with excitement. She was back - she was going home. "Oh, Harry I'm so glad you decided to come back after all. After all, education is most important" She shot Harry a knowing look and he responded with a chuckle.

"you'd hex me into next week if I didn't come back, besides I only came for a certain red-haired witch" he gave a wink and Hermione slapped him lightly on the shoulder.

"Speaking of Ginny, I've just spotted her, ill meet you on the train, Hermione!".

Anyone would think they hadn't seen each other all summer she thought amusedly, nevertheless arrived together to the station together. Yet they were infatuated with one another, he needed the company after all that happened. She couldn't help think that perhaps they all did.

She grinned down at the shiny Head Girl badge that was secured on her robe; it glistened in the sun. The pin adorned all of the houses, a sign of unity that the headmistress had stated she wanted for the school and for the heads to encourage and uphold. It was a change from the single coloured pins handed out in previous years, but she appreciated the change. Catching her by surprise, Ron had sneaked his arm around Hermione's waist. She jolted at the touch, he was well aware she didn't like surprises and to be frank she just didn't find the public affection welcoming.

Pushing her thoughts aside, she smiled up at the boy. He had decided to come back as well. She suspected he was not ready to enter the world without the support of his friends being by his side and had decided that another year at Hogwarts couldn't hurt. As well as the threatening words by Mrs Weasley that he should finish his education.

"Mione it's going to be a great year don't' ya think, we should get a compartment near the back?"she frowned.

"Ron I told you that the heads were to watch the train and had a compartment of their own". He dropped his smile and sighed "Well at least spare some time for us out of your busy schedule" He bent down in an attempt to give her a kiss but she had spun around knowingly and walked away, exclaiming that she would try.

The summer between the two was tense, the kiss between them was impulsive and Ron had now believed something was between them, and perhaps there was but not to the extent he thought there was. His touching left her uncomfortable and she wasn't totally sure about him calling her his girlfriend, but she went along with it. Perhaps she needed someone as an outlet, the war had messed around with her more than she cared to admit to anyone and even herself. She was willing to give it a go, regardless of how she truly felt. She did know that she was supposed to love him, and so she had convinced herself that she was.

She hurried down the corridor of the train, she couldn't bear to be late. Headmistress McGonagall had bestowed Hermione with what she always had believed would be her greatest achievement; well at least it had been when she was 12, and she did not want to give her any reason to doubt her decision to make her head girl.

She stepped into the carriage with five minutes before the stated meeting time and settled herself in. Shortly she found herself surrounded by three other students, she looked around in confusion and noticed their faces were etched with an expression alike her own. But before she could do anything, Minerva McGonagall swept elegantly into the compartment.

"Yes this year will be different, you may be wondering why you are accompanying three other students in the carriage. This year will be different from those previous and house unity is of utmost importance this year, each of you represent a house so Miss Granger from Gryffindor, Miss Lovegood from Ravenclaw, Mr Malfoy from Slytherin and Mr Polsky from Hufflepuff. Throughout the year you will be organising inter-house activities. But without further a do you should begin to monitor the carriages". They all left the compartment swiftly.

She pondered what the headmistress had said and the people she would be working with this year. She was quite excited to be able to work with Luna as she considered her a dear friend, and no doubt was Luna one of the most open-minded and non-judgemental person she had met. Malfoy would be interesting, he hadn't given her any snarky comments or glares while they had been in the carriage, she was content with the new year and was open to trying to be civil, after all, there was no reason for him to continue being such a git like in the past, but only time would tell. And Polsky, she didn't remember seeing him around the school or hearing about him at all really, he was quiet however and seemed nice enough.

She got off the train, hoping for a good year, despite all the pain and suffering associated with the war and went over to escort the first years towards Hagrid.

Everyone began to file into the great hall. Hermione walked with the rest of the heads and they each took a seat at their respective tables. She glanced towards the teachers' table, it stayed the same as it had with familiar faces. Hagrid teaching Care of Magical Creatures, Mrs Pomfrey as the school nurse, Mrs Sprout as the Herbology teacher and so on.

However, there was an empty seat on the far left of the table. The seat in which Professor Severus Snape had sat for the last 20 years. This knowledge, however, was not privy to her. 'perhaps the potions replacement is late' she thought to herself. She found it to be a shame that his life had ended the way it had. Harry had told her all about the memories left and how he had a new found respect for the man who had sacrificed himself to a cause that could no longer benefit him. And in turn, Hermione believed him and had found herself silently wishing that a different circumstance could have happened for the man.

Minerva rose up and walked towards the podium, eyes wide and a large smile on her face. "Welcome first years!". Hermione turned towards the doors that had swung loudly open and could see the first years looking around in awe of what they were immersed in. She had remembered her own entrance into the great hall for the very first time and was rocked with nostalgia, it truly was remarkable.

However, there was someone else behind the first years, directing them to where the sorting ceremony would take place. Whispers began and eyes darted between the man and back towards their friends. All of the students were trying to make sense of what they were seeing. Severus Snape was right there in the flesh, and seemingly alive and perfectly normal, except for a limp as Hermione noticed.

"Is he a ghost!" claimed one of the third years too loudly for his own good. "No, ghosts are white and transparent" piped a fifth year.

"I can assure you I'm very much alive, and if you don't want to lose 30 points each, then keep your mouths shut and your opinions out of places in which they do not belong" Snape retorted at the students. The hall was silenced.

"Ah yes, as everyone can see, Professor Snape's wellbeing has been kept privy since after the war in order for his rehabilitation. He will be returning to his position as the Potions master, please do ensure he is welcome" McGonagall announced to the student body.

Hermione glanced up at the man and saw he was wearing a scowl. Her eye had caught his and she looked away suddenly. Ron nudged her "Bloody hell, I don't have a good feeling about this year if that git's back". Hermione stared back incredulously at the boy "Show some respect, we would probably be under Voldemort's control and Harry would be dead without him doing everything he did for the Order. I don't particularly like him either or his snarky attitude but that's no reason to insult someone who virtually saved your life"

The sorting ceremony begun and 8 students were sorted into Hufflepuff, 9 into Ravenclaw, 9 into Slytherin 11 into Gryffindor

McGonagall began to speak again as the ceremony ended and the first years sat with their new houses. "Everyone get yourself settled in, this year will be very different and I expect all of you to be listening" she shot a look at Ron as she spoke this who had been messing around with his tie, he had looked up sheepishly after Hermione had nudged him. Continuing on "Now, this year will focus heavily on inter-house relationships, I will not tolerate a repeat of previous years. In order to do this, we have two Head Girls, and two Head Boys and each is from a house. Everyone welcome Mrs Granger, Mrs Lovegood, Mr Malfoy and Mr Polsky."

Everyone cheered, well perhaps the Slytherin table was less quiet than the others. It seemed like the Slytherins were unsure of what to make of Draco Malfoy, and with many of the older Slytherins not returning this year, he seemed very much alone. 'serves him right" she decided.

"In addition to this, to further encourage inter-house unity, the previous heads of houses will be changed. Professor Sprout will be head of Ravenclaw, Professor Snape as head of Gryffindor, Professor Flitwick as head of Slytherin and Professor Sarainly as head of Hufflepuff and will also be this year's new Defence of the Dark Arts teacher" Everyone in the room had their mouths wide open.

Quick chatter began and grew to full fledge heated discussions. Even the teachers were peering around at each other, obviously not being made aware of this decision. "Blimey, McGonagall has really gone bat shit crazy, we will be eaten alive by Snape" Ron said disapprovingly. And for once, Hermione agreed.

xx

Another year. Another year full of dunderheads and insufferable children, and of course it'd be made worse by the fact he had practically just risen from the dead in their minds. He peered to look at those who sat before him. Children's naivety and ignorance severely annoyed him, and these students didn't prove to be anything but that.

He'd only being paying loose attention to what Minerva had been saying but something had suddenly quipped his attention "...Professor Snape as head of Gryffindor". He felt his face blanch. 'What was the stupid bint saying?' he had thought of Minerva as an acquaintance but was starting to seriously question that. He inwardly groaned at what he would be forced to do.

'Perhaps they shouldn't have revived me' he thought.

Of course, he hadn't had any real choice in the matter. Poppy and Minerva had made it their duty to ensure he stayed alive and could regain everything he had lost from the coma. And because of this, he couldn't say no when Minerva had confronted him about coming back to Hogwarts for the upcoming year, and besides, he didn't have anywhere else he could go and had very little money otherwise. No one particularly would want to be around the man who had killed Dumbledore, and of course, no one could understand the vital role he had played in the war with the order. As infuriating as it was, he had little choice but to stay being a teacher, something he had not enjoyed for a very long time, if ever.

xx

"Activities will be held throughout the year as well to allow for the mingling of houses but more information will come about this in due time. But without further ado, enjoy the first feast of the year!" McGonagall had announced once again.

Hermione watched as the food rose onto the tables. It looked as magical and delicious as always but for once it seemed no one was very interested perhaps the first years, after all, they didn't know any better and reached excitedly for a bit of everything. It seemed as everyone just sat there dumbfounded by what they had heard. 'This year is going to be crazy' she thought. The hall stayed quiet for some time, while everyone pondered all that had just happened.

It wasn't until Harry started laughing and saying "Considering we just defeated Voldemort, you'd think she just give us a bit of a break", that the table and had loosened up and begun chattering amongst themselves. The rest of the houses followed suit. Hermione felt good to be back with her friends, no threat looming over her head and just to discuss things they rarely were able to in the previous years, even if that said thing happened to be Quidditch.

As dinner ended, Hermione began to round up the first years with the intention of escorting them towards Gryffindor tower, but Professor Snape had stepped in front of her "Miss Granger, the headmistress wants me to inform you that the heads private wing is not ready yet and you will need to sleep with the rest of the seventh year females for the remainder of the week" he said with a drawl that contained a hint of spite. "Yes sir" she replied meekly. He turned swiftly and she left with the 11 first years by her side.

 **I will be updating every Thursday (I live in Australia).**

 **Thank you so much for reading!**


	2. This Is What Makes Us Girls

**Thank you to all those who have read, reviewed, favourited and followed the first chapter of 'The Unlikely Confidant', it means a lot to me!**

 **This week and the following week will have early updates due to commitments such as school camps so I'm sorry if that bothers you.**

 **Perhaps let me know If you'd prefer updates to be exclusive to one day only when possible (such as every Thursday) or if you'd prefer me to post them when I have them ready (as long as there is no longer than a week's wait between posts). That'd be helpful knowledge for me to have.**

 **Enjoy the next instalment :)**

She felt a wave of nostalgia being in her old room in the Gryffindor dormitory and she suddenly felt comforted. She had been apart from the school for so long and she started to feel like she had lost a part of herself.

"Mione?... I thought the heads would get a room of their own?" Ginny said as she peeked her head out of the curtains of the bed. Hermione smiled at the girl "The head's wing won't be finished until the end of the week, probably because there will be four of us instead of two". She went to sit down on the bed next to Ginny, the two had become close friends and she was happy to be able to spend their last year with one another.

They sat on Ginny's bed talking for quite some time. Hermione was thankful to have a female friend she could everything too and she loved how the girl positively enhanced her life in ways she never could.

"Actually Mione, I was thinking maybe I could give you a makeover...its a new year so why not? it could be fun?" Hermione wasn't usually one to care much about her appearance, just a quick spell to tame her bushy hair was all she needed in the morning. Any other year she would have dismissed the girl with a quick laugh and said she didn't care about such things. Indeed, she did not care about such things, at all. She'd rather have extra reading time in the mornings then to fiddle around with mascara or cosmetics charms.

However, it was a new year and more importantly a new era, 'so why not' she thought. Even if it was just to humour the girl, she needn't do it every day, just for the night. None of this would be counter productive as she was learning something new, and Hermione could never turn down new knowledge. Besides, she looked over at her friend and she was truly gorgeous. During her stay at the Burrow, she had admired the girl's effortless beauty. She didn't go over the top with her makeup like some of the Slytherin girls did. Ginny was one of the most beautiful girls in the school and Hermione loved the confidence the girl had.

Hermione found herself wishing for the same confidence that didn't rely on presenting itself when she felt threatened or when she had to fight the insecurities she felt. She simply just wanted the aura of confidence, and no one would deny that Ginny had it.

Hermione looked over at Ginny and observed the girl for a short while. She had fashioned her long locks into beautiful curls and wore a modest pink shimmer lipgloss that Hermione had noticed she wore quite often. Sometimes Hermione couldn't help but look at herself and think that she so plain in comparison to the rest of the girls who walked these very hallways.

"Yes, sure Gin It sounds fun, but isn't it just a slight bit too late to do something like this?" The redhead girl was taken aback by Hermione's compliance to do something like this, and a huge grin spread across her face. "Hermione it's 8'o'clock, of course, it is not late, now get into the bathroom before I jinx you," Ginny said with a giggle.

"Hermione it's 8'o'clock, of course, it is not late, now get into the bathroom before I jinx you," Ginny said with a giggle.

Hermione walked over to the bathroom where Ginny began to lay all of the cosmetics she owned onto the bench. Hermione eyed them curiously "Yes I know there are spells for cosmetics but I think applying them yourself is fun and they look better that way. A lady stocks them at Diagon Alley, maybe you could get some on the next Hogsmeade trip if you like them" Ginny responded to a curious Hermione.

Ginny sat her down on a chair and started to explain all of the products to her "See this?" she pointed to a little tube "this is a tinted moisturiser, it is only a light coverage so you'll still look natural" She began to apply it to Hermione's face and noticed it gave her a subtle glow and this pleased Hermione, as she still wanted to look natural. Ginny then dusted light powder on Hermione's face, put on a light sweep of blush on her cheeks and lengthened her eyelashes. It made her brown eyes stand out, which she had always perceived as boring. After all, she didn't believe her eyes could be anywhere as wonderful as Ginny's blue eyes. Ginny also put on a very light brown lip gloss with shimmer that only tinted her lips slightly.

"Wow Mione that colour looks so good on you, you'll be getting a lot of attention from the boys if you keep this up". Hermione blushed and thanked the girl asking her whether she thought she looked silly which the redhead quickly dismissed. "Just one more final touch, you need something signature, something to wear every day..." She looked around a bag she had propped up against the mirror. "..ah hah! what about this?" It was a bobby pin and on the end was a single white pearl. Ginny slid the pin into the left side of Hermione's hair. "Oh wow Gin, this is so beautiful" Hermione smiled and touched the pin tenderly. Maybe this was something she could try out after all.

Hermione woke the next morning well rested and excited for her first day of classes. She was eager to be back after more than a year and was quite excited to see what was in store for the year in terms of academia. She went down to breakfast, pin securely in her hair and her makeup done with a slight help of a hand from Ginny. She felt nervous, the last time she had done something like this was for the Yule Ball, but even then, that was a special occasion and she had no Idea if people were going to ridicule her for trying to do soemthing so unlike her.

She was on the second floor walking side by side with Ginny when she saw Pansy Parkinson strolling towards her. "Granger who are you trying to impress with that get up" Parkinson sniggered. Hermione felt the urge to hide her face and walk away but somehow the Gryffindor blood boiled up and she found her bravery once again.

"As if you don't cake your own face to the high heavens, Pansy, I don't know why because you are surely going to hell" Hermione bit back.

Pansy had faltered slightly but after a few moments, she sent a hex flying towards Hermione. "Scribe Faciem!" Hermione was knocked back against the wall and she felt the pressure jolt through her stomach causing her to not be able to breathe for the slightest moment.

Ginny ran to Hermione's side and crouched down next to her making sure she was alright. "That stupid bitch, she wrote 'slut' on your forehead," she told Hermione.

Ginny got up to face Pansy, with her wand ready, ready to aim a curse at the other girl. When suddenly Professor Snape appeared in the corner of Hermione's eye. "What are you doing?" His drawl was directed towards the two Gryffindor girls. Hermione scampered to her feet, her forehead in full view, she noticed that he did not look amused by the sight like she thought he would. "What is the meaning of this!" He demanded. Ginny's face went red with anger "Parkinson here" she pointed to the girl who was looking quite smug, "hexed Hermione simply because Hermione was wearing makeup" she replied.

"Miss Parkinson, 10 points will be taken and same to you Miss Weasley, now get to the hall..or else.. another 5 points will be taken for being late to breakfast" he snapped at the two girls. They hurried off, but before Ginny was out of sight she looked behind her and shot Hermione a worried look.

Hermione lowered her head, in evident shame from being called such a disgusting name. After all, she only wanted a little bit more confidence, she had not done it to get boys to notice her. However, she was surprised that he had taken that many points off of Pansy; It was not a common occurrence. Professor Snape losing his position of Slytherin's head of the house had not stopped his favouritism.

Her own thoughts soon were cut off. "10 points Miss Granger, and detention with me tomorrow night, and remove the makeup you silly girl, it is hardly appropriate" she merely nodded and turned away and headed back up to her room.

She was left with her own thoughts as she walked up towards her dormitory. Most girls wore a small amount of makeup at the school, and no one had ever been reprimanded for it. She conceded that he was going to be extra harsh on her this year and it was most likely to do with her knowing about the memories he had left on his (supposed) last breath.

She wiped delicately away at her face and stared at the word written on her forehead. She said the counter spell as she let out quiet sobs. By the time she was done, her eyes were puffy and red and she had definitely missed breakfast. It was only when she realised the time that it was already 5 minutes into the first period of class. She had double potions with Professor Snape in the morning. She inwardly groaned, picked up her books and bolted out the door.

She raced down the flights of stairs, down to where the potions classroom was situated. She let out a large huff to catch her breath before opening the doors of the potions lab. 'here goes nothing' she thought. The doors creaked opened and she muttered a small apology. She looked at the small wrist watch she wore - she was 12 minutes late.

"Ah Miss Granger, how nice of you to find some time out of your busy schedule in order to come here today, 5 points will be taken from Gryffindor," he said sarcastically to the girl, as he stood behind his desk, tapping his fingers impatiently. She nodded her head and felt the heat fill her cheeks. She took a seat and glanced around the room.

There were significantly fewer people in the classroom than there had been in past years. Eight students including herself were sitting in the room, at least she had Ginny and Luna. Harry and Ron were obviously unable to receive an 'O' and weren't accepted into the class, not that they would want to after they learned who'd be teaching it. She took a seat next to Ginny who was beckoning her over and had a spare seat next to her.

"What happened after I left?" Ginny whispered as Hermione sat down and started unpacking her satchel. Hermione set her potions textbook in front of her. "He took off 10 points and I have detention scheduled tomorrow with him" she spoke as she rolled her eyes. Ginny looked over to Hermione with obvious pity in her eyes. It was obvious she believed the punishment was harsh, even by his standards. And no one wanted detention with Professor Snape, not even the Slytherins.

"Turn to page 237" his voice droned throughout the classroom. The students scampered to turn the pages of their book; all of them noticing his grumpier than usual mood. Hermione found the page after a few moments and to anyone else in the room they would have seen a very distinct expression of confusion on her face. The confusion had filtered throughout the room quickly and low mumbled voices began to fill the room. "I've been informed that a contraception potion needs to be included in the seventh year syllabus despite it being highly preposterous. This potion will be the simplest potion you'll brew over the duration of this year. If anyone one of you fail to produce a perfect potion, you will be dismissed and not allowed to return."

He pointed to the already pre-written instructions on the board, and the students began to gather ingredients. She waited before joining the others at the table where their ingredients were, and instead, she read over the instructions the seventh year textbook included on the potion. After quickly skimming over the instructions she noticed that instead of 13 slithers of newt spleen that the textbook stated, Professor Snape had only written 12. She double checked again making sure she had not read it wrong - but no, it was quite clear she was right.

She debated whether to question his instructions on the board. It would virtually be social suicide if she did. No one ever questioned Professor Snape on anything; it was simply unheard of. But yet she wanted to learn. The yearning inside her to know why it was different. Perhaps it was a mistake, whether it was the textbooks or his was left unknown. 'Stop being so meek, he's just a teacher, you aren't like this' she urged herself. She raised her hand. He gave her a sharp look that beckoned for her to speak. "Excuse me, sir, in the textbook it says we need 13 slithers of newt spleen but your instructions says we need 12, is that right?"

xx

"Excuse me, sir, in the textbook it says we need 13 slithers of newt spleen but your instructions says we need 12, is that right?"

'Ah, of course, the girl couldn't help but be insufferable for at least 5 minutes' he thought bitterly to himself. The girl had annoyed him ever since the first lesson, frustratingly so that she would never have her hand down but instead it was constantly waving around in the air. He disliked her need to go beyond what he asked of his students. Most notably her always adding in extra information to her essays. He supposed that perhaps she was trying to 'show off' by adding in further knowledge and by including discussions at the end. But in reality, she just wanted his opinion on the topic, she admired his expertise in the area and wanted nothing more than to be able to have his insight. 'How insolent to question my methods' he thought. However, if he had known what she truly meant by it, then perhaps he wouldn't have despised the girl so much, maybe even play a part in her intelligence flourishing. This would be more likely if the girl was anyone but Hermione Granger.

"Do not question my methods. If you must know, seeing as you perhaps might burst if you don't, adding the extra slither of newt spleen can interfere with the potency of the potion when brewed on certain cycles of the moon" he snarled.

She quickly nodded her head and got up from the table with the intention to collect her ingredients. Before she left, however, he noticed Hermione closed the textbook and had tucked it underneath the rest of the books she had piled up on the table. 'Perhaps the girl can listen after all'.

He went to get up from his chair but the sharp pain that shot through his left leg was unbearable and he fell down with a thud.

The only person who had even noticed was Hermione, who had a perplexed look on her face. He fired a glare towards her directions. Severus Snape never wanted to appear weak. She quickly looked away, and she did not dare to look back.

He looked around the dingy classroom, seeing as this was the first class of the term, he had no papers to grade, like he would normally do during class. He resigned himself to sitting at his table and observing the classroom instead of doing his usual prowl around the room - he would do this to intimidate the students as he looked over their shoulder. However sometimes, on a very rare occasion, he was intrigued by the way they prepared ingredients and brewed their potions and he would later regret doing so. The majority of the time, he could not understand how they were so thick and dim-witted and this showed heavily in their ability to produce the potions they did. At least the seventh years weren't entirely dunderheads compared to his other potions classes, after all, they had to be 'outstanding'

He peered over at Luna Lovegood. The girl was prodding the newt spleens with an amused look on her face. How the girl had managed to get an O in her previous year was beyond him, yet she always produced a good brew.

She had passed something over to Hermione who he noticed was on the last stage of her brew. All she had left was 12 counter clockwise stirs and 3 clockwise stirs before the potion would be finalised.

He managed to get up to examine the classes potions as the class was beginning to end. With jolted steps, he remarked that they all had successfully brewed the potions. He stepped in front of Hermione's. It was perfect and not merely just passable like the rest of the students. But of course, he would never mention that to anyone, let alone the girl. If it had been anyone but Hermione who happened to be a potions prodigy in the school then perhaps he would have found the light in teaching, that he had never once experienced.

He lingered over the potion, staring at it for far too long before he opened his mouth to speak to the rest of the class. "You will not be required to hand these potions in, but instead you are to take these and...use them when the time...permits" He managed to choke out hesitantly, with a slight flush coming to his cheeks that he had not experienced for a long time. However, he managed to hide it so the seventh years were none the wiser. 'Minerva is going to pay for this' he thought to himself.

 **Thank you for reading! :)**


	3. Kinda Out Of Luck

**So this chapter has the first real interaction between Hermione and Snape. Hopefully, you all like it!**

 **Also, I am working hard on grammar etc but I am not the best and sometimes don't always get it right - due to a lack of a beta. I hope it's not affecting any of you too much; if so let me know and I'll look into finding a beta but I'm not exactly sure how that whole process works.**

 **Happy reading everyone :)**

 ***There was an error and the update date of this chapter had not changed so I reuploaded the chapter. Thanks for your patience!***

Severus Snape woke up from quite an unrestful sleep. It would be one of the last nights he would sleep in his chamber - as the newly appointed head of Gryffindor, he would be relocated by weeks end, to be closer towards the students; much to his dismay. It had been 25 long years that he had called the dungeons his home. He couldn't believe Minerva would pull this stunt, she was infuriating.

He took the waistband of his pyjama pants and slunk them down his legs, revealing a gauzed wrapped leg. The bandage was tainted with fresh blood that had fallen over the night. The blackened skin was spreading, testimony that his last attempt to cure the curse had faltered, and it seems that the brew had made it worse by producing a small open wound. With it increasing so drastically, he didn't expect to survive to the beginning of the next school year.

He walked down the corridor into the great hall for Breakfast. He always arrived early - 7 am to be exact. He would ask for his house elf Teasel to bring him two plain buttered slices of toast and black coffee every morning; without fail. He saw Minerva arrive a few moments later and shot her the most spiteful look he could muster towards her direction. Minerva held her head back and let out a soft chuckle but still rang loudly in Severus' ears.

"Oh Severus...if only I hadn't of bet you at Wizards chess, then you wouldn't have needed to teach the seventh years the contraceptive potion. Next time be more aware that you are playing one of the best chess players at Hogwarts before you agree to a game" She gave him a playful wink that he shied away from.

"Agree? you forced me you insufferable woman" he muttered into his toast, just loud enough for Minerva to hear. "Besides, there are currently only 9 students in my class, that's hardly all of the seventh years, so don't go boasting your greatness around like some arrogant Gryffindor student" he piped up louder as he dropped his toast onto his plate.

By this time, more students had been walking into the great hall for a spot of breakfast. Minerva had noticed Miss Granger concealing a small vial with her hands that she showed to only her friends. Minerva nudged Severus and urged him to look towards the direction that had caught her attention.

"Looks like by the end of today, everyone will know about your little lesson yesterday and the sentence I had bound you to say due to your dismal chess performance" She was having much too fun with the bargain she had made over the summer holidays.

Severus Snape inwardly cringed at the sentence he was forced to say to uphold his end of the bargain. _'You will not be required to hand these potions in, but instead, you are to take these and use them when the time permits'._ If he hadn't, he would have been turned into a rather fluffy bunny; and he would have rather died.

xx

Hermione was walking into the great hall and noticed it was still quite empty. Only a few other students were around and a couple of teachers were scattered throughout the hall talking to one another or to the students who were early risers. She sat down where they all usually sat. She found it amusing that they had to extend the tables by a few extra inches to accommodate the extra students who had returned to Hogwarts. While she was thinking about the sheer number of people who had come back, she started to feel amazed by how many of her peers truly did care for their education and wanted to make the most of it.

While Hermione was focusing on her thoughts, she hadn't noticed her two best friends sit in front of her. "Earth to Hermione!" Harry stuck his hand in front of her face and waved it around while laughing to himself. She brought her attention back to where she was and smiled at her two friends.

"I have something to tell you guys, it happened yesterday and it was the strangest occurrence ever since this enchanted ceiling turned pink because of peeves 30 years ago!" Hermione started to babble. "Um... Hermione, what are you talking about?... a pink ceiling?" Ron looked at her puzzled.

Hermione shook her head "Oh never mind that! during potions yesterday Professor Snape assigned us to make a contraception potion...a contraception potion is to stop a witch from getting pregnant". She said as she noticed Ron's confused expression. Ron's cheeks flushed "I know what a contraception potion is Mione, bloody hell".

She pulled the small vial out of her pocket and tried to hide it so only the boys could see. "And he actually told us to keep it and might I quote "for when the time permits," She said this with her best Professor Snape imitation she could and the boys burst out laughing. "Maybe Nagini's venom went straight to his head and it is making him go crazy." Ron blurted out perhaps a little bit too loudly. But one thing was for sure, they all enjoyed being able to just have fun with no woes.

The day's classes passed by uneventfully, and it was just like any other day. Hermione sat in the common room around her friends on one of the plush velvet couches that were scattered around the room. Harry was sitting next to Ginny and they were talking to one another, in their own little world. He had his hand rested on her lap and Hermione admired their easy love for one another. After the war, they had latched onto each other emotionally to both deals with their grief. Harry had hated the attention he received by the ministry and by the outer community, and Ginny acted as a weight that brought him back down to earth; he could just be himself around her. She knew the boy had been offended by the thought of the ministry offering him a position without achieving it by merit and instead by who he was. He had turned down the several owls that had flown into the burrow over the summer break.

 _Ron was messing around with the chess board that was in front of him; testing out his plays. He had accepted to play for the Kenmare Kestrels when he finished school. She thought back on the day that he had received the news._

 _It was a Tuesday morning a few days after Christmas and she had been upstairs reading the book that Harry had gifted her. She was enjoying her morning being tucked up underneath the covers of her bed. She had not slept well the night before due to the prevalent nightmares she had just after the war had ended, and this made her feel comfortable and at peace. She was so engrossed in the massive tome that she didn't hear the ruckus beginning to start downstairs._

 _The sleek black owl had flown in while Mrs. Weasley had begun to cook breakfast. She went over to the elegant owl and reached out to grab the letter. But the owl had snipped at her fingers - obviously trying to tell her that the information was classified. She saw that it was addressed to 'Ronald Weasley'. But just before the woman could call upon her son, she noticed he was walking up towards her._

 _"_ _Who's owl is that Mum, is it for Harry?" The boy had got used to the countless letters Harry had received. "No, actually it's for you Ron, it looks quite official too, go on and open it" His mother replied with a smile. She had seen the disappointed and ashamed looks on his face every time Harry had received an offer._

 _Ron reached eagerly over to the owl who then dropped the letter into his hand. With a shaky hand he opened up the letter and a massive grin spread across his face. "What is it, Ron?" Mrs. Weasely asked her son with an impatient but excited tone. "I've got asked to play for the Kenmare Kestrels!" He said so loudly that it caught the attention of both Harry and Hermione who was still planted firmly upstairs._

By the time she managed to get downstairs to find out why Ron had just shouted louder than a banshee, he had already signed off that he accepted their offer and had sent the letter back with the black owl.

She frowned as she thought back on this. He hadn't even discussed this with her and she was his 'girlfriend'. He would be located in Ireland to train and this was something that he should have discussed with her if he had wanted any sort of future with her. She wasn't just going to pack up and leave to live in Ireland like he had expected her too. She was just not that type of woman- the type to give up her dreams and aspirations for a man. It was part of the reason why she felt like she was growing apart from Ron.

The common room fell unusually quiet for it being 5:30 pm. Standing by the door-frame was Professor Snape. He moved closer towards the middle of the room. "Seeing as I've been forced to spend more time with all of you than necessary, there will be an introduction of firm rules. If anyone one of you breaks these rules you will be put on the next available train back to wherever you came from. I will not tolerate excessive noise, absolutely no soirées, and you will all be in your respective rooms by 9 pm" He finished speaking.

All the children let out audible groans. "If I hear one other person open their mouths to discuss their disapproval they will lose 10 points" And with that, everyone closed their mouths and looked at each other and rolled their eyes. He turned to leave but halted after a split moment. He opened his mouth to speak "Miss Granger..follow me". She got up from her seat and followed him out of the common room and stopped at the stairwell where he was waiting for her.

She looked up at her professor, waiting for him to say something. "I've decided you will do your detention now instead of after dinner...follow me" he said and she nodded in response. She was trying to keep up with his long strides as they walked down stairs and corridors all the way down to the dungeons.

He muttered something under his breath which Hermione assumed would be the password into the potions lab. "Sir? I didn't need to bring anything with me, did I?" she asked her professor. "If I required you to bring anything, don't you think I would have told you to?" he said with a scowl etched on his face. "Now, as standardised practice, i'll need to confiscate your wand for the duration of your punishment" She looked at him with a dubious look but handed over her wand reluctantly and he pocketed it.

The doors swung open and she stepped inside. She had never served a detention with Professor Snape before, but she had heard the rumours around the school. But surprisingly she didn't huff at the thought of having to clean out the cauldrons by hand.

She went over to where the sinks and scrubs were and picked one up. "What are you doing?" Professor Snape drawled. "Oh, aren't I scrubbing the cauldrons? She replied sheepishly as she dropped the scrub back into the wash-up area. "You would have been if Madame Pomfrey hadn't needed an extra batch of the contraceptive potion to stock up her stores in the infirmary" she noticed the slightest hint of embarrassment in his eyes as he spoke, but as soon as she noticed it, it disappeared. He continued on, "and seeing as you learned it today, I expect you to be able to brew it again but in a higher quantity as I will be busy myself tonight and can not dedicate the time to brewing it" She nodded to his question.

"I'll be in the next room" And with a swish flick of his wand, all of the equipment and ingredients she needed appeared on the bench beside her, including instructions for a bigger batch.

She went over to the bench and had a quick peek at the instructions. 'Nothing difficult about this' she thought. It was the same as the potion she had produced today, just slight differences to allow for a bigger size. Just like it would be to add extra ingredients and preparation needed to cook bigger portions of foods.

She looked at the cauldron - it was massive. She thought about just making the potion on the bench but it was far too small to be able to prepare the ingredients properly. Without a wand, she had no other option to try and lift it, asking Professor Snape for help would definitely be the last resort. She slipped her fingers underneath the ridges of the cauldron and she picked it up with all the strength she could muster. She managed to carry it fine until her foot got caught on one of the bench legs and led to her tripping. She dropped the cauldron, right onto her left foot. She heard a crack and she yelled out in pain. Whimpering she clutched her calf as she let out sobs on the rough hard floor of the potions lab.

xx

Severus Snape was distracted by a loud thunk that came from the next room, which was then followed by a sharp cry. He rummaged through his robes to find his wand and walked into the room with it clutched strongly. Whatever he was expecting to find, definitely wasn't the scene he had just walked into. He raced over to the girl who was clutching her leg; the cauldron lay by her side. He put two and two together, "Are you not a witch? it's a simple charm to levitate the cauldron" He replied incredulously. Through irregular breaths and sobs, she muttered,"You took my wand". He gave a firm shake of the head 'that was true' he thought.

He crouched down and begun to take her shoe off, she whimpered in pain as he pulled the sock down to inspect the injury. Her foot was already turning blue and black as bruises formed. "You've definitely broken some toes, Miss Granger. I was in the next room like I said I was, you could have asked for help" His tone came off calmer than he had expected it too, perhaps he just couldn't put enough spite into his voice when there was a student in front of him who was in obvious and extreme pain. She lazily nodded in reply. He noticed her start to sway so he quickly pulled her upright and swung her arm around his shoulder as he helped her down to the infirmary.

'Could she of picked a worse time to do this' he cursed the girl in his mind. It was just before dinner would begin and all the students were making their way to the great hall - which happened to be uncomfortably close to the infirmary in Severus' opinion. She had offered to him that she would be fine to walk on her own, and he had turned to her with a look of disbelief and told her to shut up. She quickly closed her mouth after hearing him say that. Her big eyes looked over at him, in obvious pain. He looked away. He could hear the students mumbles as he wove himself in and out of the crowds with Hermione at his side.

He had finally made it to the Infirmary and as he was setting her down the bed, he raised his voice to let Madame Pomfrey know Hermione had broken her three outer toes. And as quickly as he came into the room he was just as quickly leaving it with a quick turn of his heels. However, he managed to hear the girl call out "It's called a party...not soirée, sir, I think you left a lot of students confused, we don't call it that anymore" before he left. He hoped it was her dazed state, he didn't need any more insolence brewing.

 **Reviews are much appreciated! :)**


	4. I Was In A Bad Way

**Welcome back to another chapter! :)**

 **p.s if anyone is catching on to where the chapter titles are coming from then I give you major props! :)**

Madame Pomfrey raised Hermione's foot onto a small cushion on the bed. "I wouldn't go around saying such things to Professor Snape, you don't want to get on his bad side dear". The pain had subsided slightly as Madame Pomfrey begun to ease the pressure on the foot. Hermione laughed "Trust me, I have been on his bad side for eight years and besides, I think everyone is on his bad side." The Mediwitch began to chant spells and Hermione's whole body relaxed as she felt the pain trickle out of your body.

"Now, I am going to fix the broken bones in your foot. I will give you this to bite down on" Madame Pomfrey handed her a clean scrap of fabric. Hermione gave her a questioning look as to why considering she had just erased her pain through an enchantment. "People tend to bite down on their lip when they get the shock. You won't feel the pain" Madame Pomfrey reassured her. "I will say it now in 3...2...1..episkey!" Hermione clenched her teeth as she felt the bones crack back into place. She was right to say it wasn't painful, just incredibly weird.

"Unfortunately I don't have any bruise salve left in the stores. A second year fell off his broom today and cleared me out. I'll hand you these for the time being" She pulled out a set of old wooden crutches and set them beside the bed.

"Ever since Professor Snape was in a coma, no one's been able to stock up the stores. I'm not particularly very good at potions myself you see" She replied guiltily. Hermione was preoccupied with the knowledge that Professor Snape had been in a coma that she hadn't of even thought of why she'd need crutches.

"Perhaps I should go down and see Professor Snape to ask for a batch of bruise salve. Will you be alright on your own dear? I would have asked a house elf to get some from him but he particularly despises that" The Mediwitch waited for a reply from Hermione, but Hermione shook her head and replied without thinking. "You should stay here Madame Pomfrey just in case a student needs you. I'll go down and ask for a batch myself and send them up to you. You don't need to worry, I tore my Achilles when I was younger playing tennis, I'm used to crutches." She replied to the mediwitch.

Madame Pomfrey nodded reluctantly as Hermione got up and steadied herself on the crutches. She left as the clock's hand just ticked over 8 pm.

As Hermione left the room, she immediately regretted offering. Not only did it feel like the crutches were rubbing her skin away under her arms from all the hobbling around, but she really did not want to ask Professor Snape for the salve. Especially since she had just humiliated herself. She felt her cheeks redden as she thought back on the night's occurrences.

xx

Severus Snape was sitting in his private laboratory pouring over yet again another massive tome. Dinner had been a very unjoyous occasion. The worried questions from Minerva and two sets of eyes glaring at him from the Gryffindor table made him want to curse how quickly rumors and word spread around the castle. And to be frank, he wanted to forget the whole night.

His desk had several loose pieces of parchment sprawled on top of it. Several large, old books and a half drunk bottle of Ogden's Firewhiskey. Normally he was quite simplistic and tidy with his workspace and he would have never dared to drink before curfew but desperate times called for desperate measures.

He was using the same potion he had brewed for the curse that was on Dumbledore's hand and it helped to slow down the curse that was creeping higher and higher up his leg. He wasn't even sure why he cared to find the cure. Why couldn't he just accept his fate like Dumbledore had? It is not like he was particularly living for much. His life no longer served a purpose and throughout the entirety of the war, he never once believed he could make it out alive. Severus Snape was no stranger to just existing instead of living. And the man had nothing that made his life worthwhile, except for perhaps his research, but no one was interested in the ideas of a murderer. Yet he still felt like he needed to stay on earth for a little while longer.

He was about to pull one of the books out from a stack to cross reference material when he heard the potions classroom door being knocked. He bit his lip and pushed the books aside in clear annoyance. He heard the knock again, this time it was longer. He reluctantly got up from his chair, walked out of his chamber and into the potions classroom. He opened the door to the person he least likely wanted to be standing opposite him.

"Miss Granger..I do not have time to look over rubbish you consider extra credit. leave" He reached for the door to close it, but she interrupted him. "I need bruise salve, Madame Pomfrey hasn't any left in her stores" she bit back. He was taken aback by her definitive tone. "5 points from Gryffindor due to that slip of the tongue" he sneered. "Excuse me sir, but I need it, and if you don't want to uphold your duty of care then I'll come in there and brew it myself. If I had my own potions lab stocked with ingredients, I wouldn't be needing to ask" She replied defiantly. "I believe that hasn't stopped you before Miss Granger" He retorted.

He saw her look down as a small quirk of a smile formed on her face. The smile quickly fell as he assumed she had remembered the incident that he was implying - one too furry for her liking. He felt a smirk escape that he had been trying hard to suppress.

It was in that moment that he properly looked at the girl. Her eyes were bloodshot, foot darkened by her injuries and a blanched face. She looked horrible and it was partly his fault. He found himself not caring that for the first time someone who wasn't his master was telling him what to do, and he stepped aside to let her through the door. There was no way that she was in a right state to be brewing anything.

He watched her hobble in on her crutches. "Why are you using those?" he found himself genuinely asking. "They are crutches, they help muggles to get around when they have broken bones," she said matter-of-factly. "Do you take me for a fool? I can see you using them. I was asking why you need them to walk as if I am correct... Madame Pomfrey has made sure you've experienced pain relief" He noticed her nod her slowly as a slight blush formed on her cheeks, realizing that what she said wasn't very intelligent by any means.

"She didn't actually tell me. But I suppose it's due to it not being fully healed, and If I was to walk on my foot, it'd cause more damage. Also... the enchantment could wear off while I was walking on it and it'd cause a great deal of pain" He listened to her explain and it made enough sense to him. He had never really pondered a circumstance like this, he always was able to brew anything he needed to alleviate the countless injuries he endured over the years. 'well except the one on your leg' he heard the inner voice in his head taunt him.

He noticed that Miss Granger had been looking at him waiting for him to say or do something, as he had been lost in his thoughts for a few moments. "Take a seat over there" he pointed to one of the chairs relatively close to his teaching bench. "I'll brew a batch, it'll take 40 minutes," He said to her as she went to go sit down. He noticed her sigh with relief as she sat down. He didn't wish for idle chit chat, and he didn't want the girl to simply sit there. He didn't like people to watch him while he worked.

"You'll tell me the instructions of the bruise salve and I'll follow exactly what you say. If you say anything wrong I will not resurrect the salve by doing the correct method. I will not make it again If it is not satisfactory, and you'll need to explain to Madame Pomfrey why it is not satisfactory if this is the case" He explained to the girl. He was interested to see if she could still perform without the comforting aid of instructions right in front of her.

xx

She wasn't expecting him to say that. She thought that perhaps he would have asked her to leave and come back or to just sit somewhere in the room and wait for him to finish. Her mind raced with information as she tried to remember the formula. She had made the salve before countless times when she was hunting the Horcruxes along with Ron and Harry. The boys constantly had welts on their body and it was always up to her to make sure they were looked after. Thinking back on this made Hermione shudder a slight bit; she didn't like to think about it.

Professor Snape must have seen her reaction as he questioned her, "Do you mean to tell me you do not know Miss Granger?" Hermione shook her head, "No sir, I have made it multiple times, I just got distracted sorry". He had a look of dissatisfaction on his face. "I do not need any more accidents, if you will not pay attention then you will leave," he said as he glanced down at her foot.

She dismissed him and decided to start rattling off what he needed to do to make the salve. "You need to add the beeswax and stir once clockwise and four stirs anticlockwise". He followed her directions exactly, he didn't question what she was saying. She continued through the rest of the directions with ease. It was at that moment, when she called out the last thing he needed to do, that the salve turned into the right shade of yellow. She beamed at her achievement.

"One point will be awarded to Gryffindor. It seems your exhaustive reading has paid off" He said. It wasn't much, but it was very rare that Gryffindor would get any sort of reward from Professor Snape and due to this, Hermione was incredibly proud of herself. He began to scrap the salve into empty containers that he then placed into a small wooden crate.

"Thank you, sir, I'll call for a house elf to help me take them to Mada-" She was cut off by Professor Snape. "That will not be needed Miss Granger, It's past curfew and you'll not roam these castles, who knows what you'd get up too". She rolled her eyes slightly when he looked away from her 'Yeah I'd totally go around causing havoc with a battered up foot'. He continued on, "Besides... Poppy would just demand more brews for her stores and I'd rather hear her whining now than at breakfast.

She reached for the container of salve that he was handing her and opened it. She massaged it into her foot and she watched the bruises disappear. Hermione stood up and placed her foot on the hard cold floor, she breathed a sigh of relief to know her foot was perfectly fine to stand up and walk around on.

It was at the worst moment, in complete silence, that her stomach decided to growl. She reached down to grab her stomach, which was a rather pathetic way to tell it to be quiet. She had hoped he hadn't heard it but she'd be a fool if she believed he didn't.

"I daresay you haven't had dinner tonight?" he asked her. She shook her head. He clicked his finger and she assumed It was his personal house elf that had just appeared. "Master Snape, how may I be of service?" the little house elf asked while giving a slight bow. "A plate of whatever was served at Dinner Teasel, please" He responded to the Elf. 'the man speaks better to creatures than he does to people' she thought amusedly. "Does Master want food too? he was not at dinner" The house elf asked politely. Hermione was curious as to why Professor Snape hadn't gone to dinner, as he had taken her to the infirmary just beforehand. "No, perhaps just a bottle of firewh...a coffee. Thank you Teasel" He had obviously remembered who was in the room.

When Teasel had returned, they ate and drank in complete silence. Hermione ate rather quickly as she couldn't bear the weird notion of her sitting in the Potions classroom with Professor Snape eating Dinner. She was finishing her last piece of Lasagne when Professor Snape broke the silence. "It is getting late," he said with clear intent. He got up and waited for her to do the same.

However, she needed to wear shoes if she hoped to walk back to the infirmary for Madame Pomfrey to check that her foot was fully healed. She patted her cloak down to feel for her wand but couldn't feel the familiar smooth narrow object.

"What on earth are you doing Miss Granger?" Professor Snape demanded. "I believe you still have my wand Professor," she said. She saw him feel for a particular pocket and he pulled out a wand - her wand. As he handed it to her he said "Follow me" and started to walk out the door. She accio'd her shoe and slipped it on after she caught it flying through the door, in which it nearly missed hitting Professor Snape. She hurried off to catch up to the teacher.

Professor Snape swung the doors open to the infirmary and Hermione followed behind him. "Ah, Severus..and Miss Granger! I see you've brought me a batch of the Bruise salve. Now, Severus, we need to talk about my stores or lack thereof...and Miss Granger take a seat on the bed while I inspect your foot" The mediwitch said hurriedly.

Hermione walked over to one of the beds and sat down on the edge of it. Madame Pomfrey came over and began to inspect her foot, flexing the muscles and looking for any swelling or discolouration; she did this while she talked to Professor Snape. "I wrote a list of all the remedies my stores are low in or that have been exhausted, there is quite a few" Snape went over to the mediwitch's desk that she had been pointing to and picked up the list. One that Hermione had noticed was quite long as suggested by the length of the parchment.

"Poppy I have hardly enough time to teach and grade let alone brew these," he said definitively. "It needs to be done, Severus. Perhaps you should consider getting an assistant to help brew the easier potions? I'm aware that Miss Granger is quite competent with potion making?" Hermione blushed slightly at the recognition.

"Don't even think about it Poppy, now if you don't mind I've spent enough time here already, Is Miss Granger's foot capable enough to walk back to her bed?" he said with a drawl. "Yes, I believe it has, you may go now Miss Granger".

Hermione nodded her head and thanked the woman before she got up from the bed. She followed him down the corridors; albeit a few spaces behind until they made it to the front of the Gryffindor tower. He said nothing as she slipped through the doorway.

 **And that is the end of another chapter everybody! I hope you enjoyed it, don't forget to review, please :)**


	5. Behind Closed Doors

**Another chapter everyone! sorry about the short delay on this one - I had some personal issues I was dealing with.**

 **Enjoy Behind Closed Doors :)**

Hermione awoke from her sleep well rested. She cuddled up into her blankets and allowed herself a few moments to ponder all that had happened. She needn't get up early as it was a Sunday and breakfast wouldn't be until 9 am.

However, the peace was interrupted when Harry and Ron came bounding into the room. "Harry, Ron, you can't be in here!" she scowled at the boys.

She saw Ginny stir at the ruckus and she soon opened her eyes. "Mione! what happened yesterday?" the girl squeaked as her voice was trying to get used to waking up. Hermione sighed and cast a silencing charm. 'There goes my relaxing Sunday morning' she thought bitterly to herself.

Ron was red with fury, "Mione what did Snape do to you?" he demanded. Hermione was taken aback. "Nothing Ron? what do you mean?... and its Professor Snape" It was when it dawned on her that they were talking about the incident with her foot and that she practically was carried by Professor Snape down to the Infirmary.

"Hermione, Snape..um I mean Professor Snape was carrying you down the corridors just before dinner and your foot was pretty banged up, you also looked pretty out of it, to be honest," Hermione blushed as she imagined the scenario.

"Oh, I was in detention and the punishment was to brew a potion but the cauldron landed on my foot, he was taking me up to the infirmary because I broke my toes" She shrugged it off like it was no big deal.

"I don't believe you, I think he did it deliberately, the slimy git!" Ron retorted, his face going redder by the minute. "He'll pay for this" He continued on. "Ron do you really think he would deliberately hurt a student? stop being an idiot" Ginny countered. Ron was having none of it however and started to walk towards the door.

Harry grabbed his arm but Ron huffed, "No one hurts my Mione". Hermione smiled a little at his comment. It felt nice for someone to say something like that about her, considering she had never heard anything like it.

"Ron settle down now, think about what you are about to do, he'd kill you in an instant" Harry chuckled nervously. Ron began to slowly nod his head and stepped away from the door. "It was an accident. I promise Ron; he wasn't even in the room when it happened" She reassured him and he accepted what she was saying with a small dubious nod.

They all sat in the room a little while longer. Some of the other girls in the dorm had awoken by now. However, seeing as the four friends were cross-legged on the floor playing couples chess they didn't really mind that two males were in the room as they pose no threat. Instead, they all joined in the discussion, and they enjoyed getting to know the seventh years they hadn't talked all that much.

It was around 8:30 am when the girls had told the boys they needed to get out so they could get changed out of their bed clothes and into something more decent for breakfast. Ron was reaching down to pick up the chess board when there was a knock at the door. Ginny went over to go and open the door thinking it was another student.

Professor Snape stood at the door frame and Hermione gulped. She knew the boys would be in big trouble for this. "Potter and Weasley, I was under the impression that both of you were males but if you wish to be females then by no means follow me to the Headmistresses office where it will be arranged". Harry's face reddened at his comment.

"We were just playing chess!" Ron piped up. "It is a female dormitory, you are not permitted to be in here under any circumstance, 50 points from Gryffindor" Professor Snape bit back. "But that's not fai-" Ron was cut off by Professor Snape who opened his mouth to speak again. "50 points each and detention with Filch tomorrow night, apparently he was looking for someone to complete a rather gruesome task" Hermione saw Ron about to go off on a rage but a sharp look from Harry stopped him. "You two leave...now!" he implied to Ron and Harry. They left the room sulkily.

Professor Snape turned towards Hermione, "You have five minutes to get dressed as the heads wing is available for you to move into, I'll be outside the room and do not dawdle". She nodded in response.

Hermione followed him out of the room after donning some rather plain muggle clothes. She wondered where the rooms would be located. Generally, the head boy and girls dormitory were near the prefect's bathroom, but obviously, that would be different as there wasn't enough room for the four of them to stay in the old dormitory.

They had not strayed too far from the Gryffindor common room when she found herself seeing the head boys and Luna waiting at a portrait. She flashed them all a warm smile. Luna embraced her with a tight hug and complimented Hermione on her rather tattered old jeans.

Hermione noticed Malfoy slightly upturn his lips and she appreciated that the boy was trying to get his life back on track, even if it was just a simple smile. She wasn't going to be prejudiced if he wasn't. However, It didn't mean she would seek his company by any means. The other boy seemed preoccupied with tracing his finger along the hem of the shirt. Hermione hadn't decided how she felt about him, she wasn't really sure why he was made a head boy begin with as she had not heard much about the boy, actually, she couldn't recall a single thing.

"The password is 'aconite', you can discuss a change later if you wish, each room is decorated to your house so only an imbecile wouldn't understand which room is theirs. Your belongings should appear out the front of this portrait in a few moments " Snape drawled as the door swung open.

The other three heads went eagerly into the room. However, Hermione stayed behind as something slightly down the stairs piqued her interest - someone's belongings were out the front of another portrait. "Excuse me Sir, but why are someone's things down there" she pointed down to the objects. "Those possessions you pointed out are mine. I got relocated as well to be closer to the Gryffindor tower" He said bitterly. It was obvious to both of them that neither were happy about the situation.

Hermione stepped into what she believed was the common room. It was grand and decorated beautifully. Drapes lined the ceiling of the four houses and a chandelier was between the middle of them. It twinkled in the sunlight and the shadow spots from the gems danced around the walls. There were four plush velvet armchairs that each had their own desk facing towards the walls and countless bookcases. This made the bookworm squeal with glee; she so hoped there would be ones she had not read before. Towards the center of the room was four sofas with a round mahogany table sandwiched between them. The room had a more elegant feel than the medieval style the Gryffindor tower possessed. However, she seemed to like this a lot more.

She walked around the circular common room and noticed there were six doors along the walls. She assumed they were the bedrooms and perhaps maybe bathrooms. She walked to the ones closest to where she was standing.

She peered inside the furthermost room to the left and saw Luna. "May I come in Luna?" She asked the girl. Luna nodded and beckoned her in. Hermione stepped in and was awestruck. "It's really beautiful isn't it Hermione, I love it," Luna said dreamily. Hermione nodded to the girl with a smile. The dark blue was a gorgeous shade and complimented the dark brown wood beautifully. "I'll leave you to get comfortable Luna, I'm glad I'll be able to work with you this year!" Hermione exclaimed. "Me too" Luna replied back just as eagerly.

She left the room and continued on until she got to the next room. She peered inside the room just slightly and saw that it was very heavily Slytherin themed. Her presence wasn't left undetected as Malfoy turned towards her, "Granger I believe your room is the first on the right" he replied. There was no malicious tone to his voice and she offered a small smile, "Thank you" she replied.

She continued on until she passed the two bathrooms, she noticed there was a small symbol on the top to identify which gender was which. 'well that will stop some awkward situations' she thought with relief. The next door she passed was shut and quickly came to the conclusion that it must have been Polsky's room. She finally got to the room that was first on the right-hand side like Malfoy had said.

She walked into the room and she couldn't deny that it was indeed beautiful, but as she stood inside she couldn't help but feel uncomfortable as the jarring red and golds insulted her eyes. She was, of course, a true Gryffindor and 'patriotic' if you will. But she never did truly like the bold colors. She said a few enchantment and the interior of the room changed to a soft baby blue with silver detailing. She smiled and felt more at home.

She went over to feel the bed. The mattress was new and soft and the duvet was one of the nicest material she had felt; she had no idea how she'd be able to get out of a bed like this for class in the morning. Her walls were lined with bookshelf's, the other rooms she had looked into didn't and she noticed they were tailored to the owner's taste. She had remembered Malfoy having an ebony colored piano in his room. She peered over the titles, it seemed each bookshelf was devoted to a subject she took. 'Whoever designed this room knew me well' she thought as she smiled to herself.

She left the room to go and bring her possessions inside and she believed they would be waiting out the front by now. She saw they were in fact outside waiting like her professor had said they would be. She took a couple of trips to bring everything inside and to get everything packed away. On the last trip, she heard a little meow and saw Crookshanks walking beside her. She dropped the rest of her textbooks on her bed and went to reach down and pick him up. "You always know how to find your way back to me," She said to the little kneazel who was snuggling into her chest and purring. She gave him a few more pats before putting him on her bed.

She decided to have a bath since she was rudely hurried in the morning, and she was also quite excited to check it out. If Hogwarts could do one thing really well, it was their bathrooms. She quickly mentioned to Luna she'd be using the bathroom for a while and slipped into the decadent bathroom. Hermione cast a quick silencing charm as she sunk slowly into the bath. She turned the tap on for the bubble bath and watched with delight the bubbles begin to form all around her. She rested her head on the fountain with her eyes closed and began to sing a song.

Some time had passed as she sat relaxing in the bath. Suddenly she heard a small crack and her eyes shot open. Standing across from where she sat was Polsky. She felt a serge of embarrassment fill her body as she desperately tried to cover her bare chest. "I'm sorry, I thought this was the boys" he sputtered as he held up a towel as a sort of consolation. He hurriedly walked away and out of the bathroom.

Hermione had never got dressed quicker than she had just done in her life. Tears were streaming down her face, she raced out of the dormitory. She had to be anywhere but there; she had never felt more humiliated.

xx

Severus Snape was returning back to his new chamber after having to reprimand two first years in which one had an unfortunate encounter with 'U-NO-POO' from Weasley's Wizards Wheezes. He was just about to say the password to his portrait when he saw a girl crying while racing past down the stairs. He knew that distinct hair anywhere. "Miss Granger where do you think you are you going?" He bellowed. With choked sobs, the girl said, "It's Sunday". He shook his head in disbelief, she was gone before he was even able to utter another word.

He had enough of students for one day. He walked into his room - the one he had designed for himself. He brought in the few possessions he had. All of his books had already been placed into the room earlier and they covered practically all of the walls. The dark wood squeaked quietly as he stepped around - he particularly liked this as it always would give away an intruder; not that it would happen often.

As Severus Snape pondered his life he noticed he didn't have very much at all, not much money, nor things, or family and friends. He couldn't help but think that his room matched him too well and he wasn't sure he liked this realization.

He set the photograph of his mother on the bedside table and left the room. Troublesome students were better to deal with then unwelcome self-discovery.

 **Review if you are liking the story :)**

 **P.s I'm having a really hard time writing ch 7 so any words of encouragement would be great as I'm lacking motivation for this one chapter in particular and I've been stuck on it for the past two weeks or so.**


	6. Catch And Release

**Please read:**

 **Hey, everyone! I'd like to thank all of my readers and to the new readers of this story. It's lovely seeing the follow/favorite/review number count rise!**

 **My personal life is currently hectic as I'm in my final year of school. As I live in Australia I'm nearing halfway which means** **a lot** **of things are due. Due to this I don't have as much as expendable time to write, however, the next chapter is finished (It is shorter in comparison due to what the context of the chapter is about) and so that will go up on time. I will try by best to be regular but it's a bit touch and go in this time period. This story will not be abandoned however I can't guarantee I can meet deadlines every single week (although I will try my hardest) because of my busy bee status aha. I just wanted you all informed of this.**

 **Leave me a review/message if you want to ask me about when a chapter should be coming up if it's past its Thursday deadline!**

 **Enjoy this chapter, it's bringing in more plot :)**

Hermione woke the next morning and relived the embarrassing moments of the other day. She wasn't sure if Polsky would be the type to spread rumors or such, but she did not want to find out. She called for her newly appointed house elf - a pleasant perk she received from being a head girl. The house elf had seemed quite afraid of her at first. Most likely to due to her short stint with S.P.E.W. She had reassured the little elf that she needn't worry, that she wouldn't give her any clothes and that she appreciated her service. The house elf warmed up quite significantly after that.

Tinky arrived shortly after Hermione had called for her. "How can I serve you, miss?" The elf said eagerly. "Just a plate of what is being served for Breakfast please Tinky, thank you," She said with a smile. The house elf gave a little skip before apparating out of the room.

While she waited for the elf to come back. She got herself ready. She slipped on her skirt, tights and her shirt over her head. She opted for her cardigan over her jumper and secured her tie tightly around her neck. She combed her hair and said a quick spell to make sure it was somewhat kept at a bay. As she looked at herself, she realized she needed the extra confidence to make it through the day, and her usual appearance wasn't going to cut it. If they were going to talk about her then she'd rather them talk about her new appearance then about her bare chest.

She decided to keep her hair down with loose curls like usual but added two plaits from the front section of her hair that she tied at the back of her head. She secured it with the pearl bobby pin. She found the small bag of cosmetics that Ginny had leant her and tried her best to recreate to look. As she was putting on a layer of lipgloss she realized she did look quite pretty and to be frank she loved the realization.

She stood up and walked over to her the length mirror and looked at her reflection. She felt her clothing didn't suit what she was trying to go for. She loosened her tie, made her black tights slightly more transparent and transfigured her skirt 2 inches shorter.

The changes were only subtle, she resigned that they might not even be noticeable anyways, but It made her feel better, and right now that's all that mattered to her.

Tinky appeared with a plate that Hermione took over to her desk and began to eat from. Before Tinky left she smiled and said, "Miss looks very pretty today!" Hermione smiled obviously proud of her efforts. The elf apparated away.

After finishing her breakfast, she packed all of her books ready for the day's classes - Monday mornings was always double potions. She walked confidently out of the dormitory.

Severus Snape always arrived early to any classes he had. He was currently in the middle of mentally preparing himself for 2 hours with the seventh years. He didn't know what was worse, the younger they were or the older they were.

He was at his desk finishing grading the papers of the third year's investigation on 'Aconite' they were assigned over the holidays. However, he had to physically draw his eyes away from the papers at one point as a rather unintelligent girl managed to spell it 'Aconight' not one but three times in the same paragraph. He gave up on the rest and pushed them aside as students began to slowly walk into the classroom and went to stand behind their chairs.

He saw Hermione walk over to Ginny and noticed the redhead's eyes open in shock. "Wow Mione you look so good!" she said slightly too loudly. Obviously intrigued, he turned to take a look at the girl. He saw her hair was fashioned differently than usual and so were her clothes, which were looking the slightest bit disheveled. As he stared at Hermione he started to see her morph more into a woman. She no longer had the long buck teeth he had made fun off, or the poofy hair that looked like she was trying out an 80's revival look, or the rosy baby cheeks. No one could deny that Hermione was a natural beauty, but with these small changes it encouraged everyone to notice it, and they were.

The boys had begun to pay attention to Hermione talking to Ginny and he could recognize the expressions adolescent boys pulled when they saw something they looked the look of; and he wasn't just going to stand here looking like an idiot while they were dumbstruck. "Silence! and sit down" He boomed looking at the two girls. They shut their mouths faster than the sound of lightening and he felt satisfied. They all took their seats. He got up to the blackboard and flipped it around to reveal the lesson of today.

The potion was 'Memoria Recall' and the brew was fairly easy; he had brewed it successfully when he was a fourth year. "From now on, the potions you will brew will increase by difficulty. This is a memory recall potion, you ma-" He was halfway through his sentence before he heard a knock on the door.

A boy opened the door slowly. Snape stared at him, "yes?" he asked impatiently. "I am changing out of Transfiguration and into Potions Sir" He looked at the boy, trying to remember his name. 'He's one of the head boys' his mind came to the conclusion before he had to think about it any longer. "Mr. Polsky, I will not be taking new students, and I doubt you meet the requirements to be welcome in this class...you may leave" Snape drawled. He reached out to close the door so he could continue on with his lesson - uninterrupted. However, the boy piped up just before the door had slammed in front of his face. "I've got a note..a note from the headmistress, she said that you need an ink revealing charm to be able to read it, " he said as he stuck out his arm that revealed a folded piece of parchment. He took the parchment and under his breath, he muttered the charm along with a password to reveal the ink; Minerva and himself had decided on using this to ensure security - you could never be too careful.

 _Severus,_

 _A female student has discussed with me in private that she does not feel uncomfortable around the boy. He has not done anything that could cause concern, however, I will not tolerate a student feeling vulnerable in my class. Besides, he's just not that competent with the art of Transfiguration and I've discussed this with Mr. Polsky and he has agreed to move into Potions and he did receive an adequate score in the subject last year._

 _Keep an eye on him. If you see anything that is not right, please inform me and serious action will be taken. A head boy needs to set an exceptional standard._

 _Minerva._

He shot a glare at the student "Very well, you'll sit over there" he pointed to an empty bench and pocketed Minerva's letter. "As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted, you'll be brewing a memory recall potion, you may begin". He sat back down in his chair and looked around the room. The students were collecting their ingredients from the far bench but Hermione was still firmly in her seat. He saw a single tear roll down from her eyes. He was confused, what could the girl possibly be crying about. "Miss Granger, are you trying to tell me you do not want to brew the potion? If so leave" He directed his sharp tone towards her.

She looked up and he noticed that her cheeks were wet with tears, she shook her head. "May I be excused?" her voice wavered. His eyes narrowed down at the girl, not sure what to make of the situation. She got up to leave. "Miss Granger, sit down!" he said, but she was already out of the door.

"Everyone sits down at their benches, and do not move or you'll be severely reprimanded," He said to the students warningly. He left the lab and went looking for the girl. 'How many more issues do I have to deal with involving this foolish girl' he thought to himself. He found her at the end of the corridor sitting down while she clutched her knees to her chest, her head was resting on top of her knees.

He wasn't sure how to handle a crying female, he didn't particularly have any expertise in the area and it seemed he made them cry more than they already were.

"Miss Granger, what are you doing you foolish girl?" he questioned her. She gave no response, well not counting sobs that is.

He lowered his tone and attempted to ask in a more sensitive manner, "Miss Granger, do I need to involve a female teacher?". He assumed that the girl would probably want to talk to Minerva seeing as the woman had fawned over the child ever since she stepped foot into the school and partly because he knew no child would confide in him about their woes.

She looked up this time and shook her head no. 'Bloody hell what are you expecting me to do' he thought bitterly. He was starting to get impatient with the girl, he had a class to go back too and they had probably destroyed the room by now. "I'm not feeling well, can I go back to my room" Her voice quivered when she asked. He was about to refuse and to tell her to get over herself and march right back into the classroom but instead, he found himself saying, "Very well, visit the infirmary on your way there". She nodded and got up slowly. She said a small thank you before walking away. He himself walked back to the classroom wondering why he had gone easy on the girl; albeit he did not ponder long.

Hermione walked into the great hall. Her eyes were bloodshot and sore from her hands wiping away tears the whole afternoon. The majority of the student body was already sitting down waiting for 7 pm to chime - in which the decadent feast would appear in front of them. She thought about not going to dinner but realized that it would just cause for unnecessary rumors to spread by the next day. She glanced up towards the teacher's table where she saw Professor Snape looking at her. She quickly looked away, not liking the discomfort she felt.

She sat down at her usual seat and Ginny looked over at her worriedly. "Mione are you alright? why'd you leave Potions" Ginny said with great concern. Harry placed a hand on Hermione's shoulder and Ron gave his best attempt at a sympathetic look. She smiled. It was times like these when she was reminded of how much she loves her friends. "I just had a really bad migraine so I asked If I could go back to my room to rest," She said, hoping to ease her friends worry. "Really? and he just let you? Mione, I heard that last week a third year asked to go to the bathroom because he felt sick and Snape said no and the poor boy threw up in his cauldron" Ginny said as she recoiled at the story.

"Maybe he's decided that he doesn't need to be a git anymore?" Harry said a bit too excitedly. His three friends gave him strange looks. "I..urm...I was thinking about going to say thank you to him, you know, for everything he did for the war". Ron looked at him with wide eyes, "Mate, he's not going to sit down for tea and coffee while you say you're sorry and express gratitude. He has avoided you ever since you found out that he loves your mom. Don't be stupid" Harry nodded dejectedly as he knew his friend was right.

Hermione heard the Headmistress tapping her glass in order to get the attention of the students. She nudged the boys to stop their talking. All of the students looked up curiously at the Headmistress as she usually saved information for Friday's dinners.

"Sorry to keep you waiting on your dinner, I promise you I won't be too long. I have an important announcement that I couldn't wait to tell you all...even the teachers" She said with a chuckle. Hermione glanced over to look at the teacher's reactions, with the majority having similar expressions to the students, she couldn't help but notice Professor Snape roll his eyes.

All the students were looking up eagerly waiting for her to continue as she repositioned her hat. "Now, as the first activity to promote interhouse unity, every year level will go on a camping trip!". Every student looked dumbfounded. Hermione questioned the woman's sanity but thought It was quite a good idea; granted the students behaved.

"We will have awarded and safe area within the Forbidden Forest, and each year level will have a different section that they will stay in. Throughout the week, you will complete challenges with your group that will be set by each teacher based on their subject, to move onto the next round you need to complete the challenge sufficiently, If your group fails a challenge, you'll still need to be involved in the rest of the challenges but you will no longer be in the running for the prize" The students began to talk to one another, trying to guess what the prize would be.

"Your group will comprise of yourself and three other students from different houses and you will be working together to win 25 galleons each... as well as free reign to go to Hogsmeade for the fifth years and above" She stated.

All the students had wide eyes. 25 galleons was a lot for a child, and the fifth years and above were particularly excited about being able to go to Hogsmeade outside of the designated weekends. They were all chattering excitedly to one another.

Someone from the Hufflepuff table had raised her hand. "Yes, Miss. Bachlieu?" the Headmistress asked the girl. "When is the trip, Headmistress McGonagall?".

"Ah yes, how could I forget? The camping trip will take place the week before Christmas. I hope everyone is excited as I am. Now enjoy your dinner". The food suddenly appeared and everyone reached for the food hungrily as they usually were not kept waiting this long. The night consisted of everyone discussing the trip and Hermione was just as excited as they were.

 **If you are enjoying this story please leave a review, or follow/favorite to keep me motivated! (God knows I need it in this crazy time :P)**


	7. Smarty

**So this is chapter is a bit shorter than the others. Mainly because of the content and it's more so a context paragraph than anything else. I still hope you enjoy it anyways :) (Normal chapter sizes will be back after this one).**

 **Thank you to Gabyram07, SheWolfMedjai, , Professor Severus Tobias Snape, and Kittysundae for reviewing Chapter 6- 'Catch and Release'. Your support is much appreciated and the questions some of you asked will be answered in due time :)**

Dozens of birds soared above the heads of the students who were sitting in the great hall for Breakfast. They would fly for quite some time as they searched for their recipients. Hermione saw the Headmistress' beautiful red owl that had delivered her heads acceptance letter soar amongst the other birds. She quickly realized that the letter in the owl's mouth was for her as the bird lowered just above her to be able to drop the letter gracefully into her hands that were resting on the wooden table. Harry, Ginny or Ron hadn't received letters this morning so they were particularly interested in unveiling the mystery of Hermione's.

"Go on! open it, Mione, that McGonagall's owl isn't it?" Ginny said. Hermione nodded in response. She flipped the letter over to reveal the familiar Hogwarts stamp and traced her finger over the smooth indents in the wax. "Hermione open it, please! For some reason this is suspenseful" Ron said impatiently. "I'm surprised you know what suspenseful means Ronald," She said teasingly to her friend. He shot back a warning look at Hermione who responded with a small laugh.

She slid her finger underneath the seal to open the letter. It was written on a small scrap of parchment and she brought it up closer so she could read it.

Hermione,

Madame Pomfrey has made a plea to me a few weeks ago asking for her stores to be stocked adequately.

Professor Snape usually has this managed however due to his absence over the summer break, they are quite lacking.

She expressed to me the notion of Professor Snape having an assistant as she no longer feels that she can provide the best care for her patients and this is simply unacceptable.

Please meet me at my office before dinner where we can discuss this further.

Headmistress McGonagall.

Hermione groaned, rolled her eyes and lastly put her head into her hands dramatically. Ron quirked his eyebrow at her. Harry reached across the table and snatched the letter from her hands and read it out loud so only the four of them could hear.

As Harry said the last sentence, Ginny reached over to touch Hermione's shoulder comfortingly but then began to laugh. Hermione shot her a glare but the girl didn't stop.

"I'm sorry Hermione but that's hilarious, Imagine brewing potions with Snape. That's probably his idea of a date" She said through choked laughs. Ron made a gagging sound and scrunched his face up at the thought. Hermione pressed her head against the table wishing for the floor to open up underneath her and take her anywhere but here. She quickly sat up straight as she remembered that McGonagall had probably been watching her.

"Mione I don't want you hanging around Snape," Ron said. Hermione just shrugged her shoulders, "there's nothing I can do about it, Ron. It seems really formal and she is the Headmistress".

"Why can't Madame Pomfrey just brew the potions?" Harry questioned to his three friends.

"She confided in me that she's not very good at potions and Professor Snape has always been in control of keeping her stores stocked. She told me when I was in the infirmary for my foot " she answered in response to Harry's question. "I just hope I won't have to be around him too much and that it is only a one-time thing" Hermione continued.

The day's classes passed ordinarily and she soon found herself walking over to the Headmistress' office for their meeting. She really wasn't looking forward to it and she was unusually hungry. This was evident through her stomach making low growling rumbles. Any excitement she had to be able to work one on one with a teacher and to further gain knowledge was squashed by who the teacher would be.

She reached the entrance to the office and muttered the password while silently wishing for her stomach to be quiet. The stairs appeared in front of her and she walked up to them slowly, wishing she could turn the other way and not have to deal with this.

She knocked quietly on the door and took a big breath as she reached for the doorknob to the door after she was beckoned inside. McGonagall was sitting at her desk, smiling eagerly at the girl. Hermione returned the smiled half-heartedly and took a seat on one of the two chairs that were empty.

"Professor Snape will be here shortly, would you like a biscuit?" McGonagall offered to her student. Hermione shook her head instinctively and immediately regretted it as she remembered how hungry she was. "Very well," the headmistress said to the girl. The encounter was unusually awkward as the two usually got on quite well as they would just discuss Hermione studies or something of an intellectual nature.

Hermione was tapping her foot repeatedly on the leg of a chair while she wished for the whole thing to be over. Suddenly the door to the office swung open and she saw Professor Snape storm into the room out the corner of her eye.

"Silence!" he motioned towards Hermione tapping feet. She was taken aback and quickly placed her feet firmly back on the floor in front of her and shifted her back into her chair so she was upright.

McGonagall quirked an eyebrow over to the man but in return, he gave a small huff before leaning against a wall to the right of Hermione. She noticed that he had managed to be in an even worse mood than usual and she was trying to ponder how that could be even possible.

McGonagall stuck out her arm to motion towards the chair that was next to Hermione. But he shot her a snide look and she closed her mouth that she had just opened.

After a moment, she began to speak, "Now, I've gathered you two here today as I feel that it's in the schools best interest...and your own Severus...that you receive help in order to keep the school's infirmary adequately stocked. We don't have adequate funds to source them elsewhere due to the war".

"Not her" he muttered under his breath. Yet, the two women heard him and Hermione shifted uncomfortably around in her seat.

The whole situation reminded her of when she was in primary school. No one would ever want to be her partner in class activities, and she had heard 'not her' enough times in her past. Granted this was a completely different situation, but yet it still stung a bit to not be wanted around, even if the person doing the denying was Professor Snape.

"You don't have a say in the matter, Severus. Did you not mention that she is the best student In your class?" McGonagall retorted back. Hermione perked up a little. She, of course, knew she was top of her year, and best in every class but to have the man say it himself was unheard of. A small smile fell onto Hermione's face at the thought of it.

"You demanded me to tell you, Minerva. So get that eager look off of your face...it was said grudgingly" He said back to the woman who was stifling a laugh and waving her hand around to assert dominance.

"No more discussions Severus. I'd like you to leave this room with Ms. Granger to discuss how you are going to go about this proposition. You both are excused" He shot a glare at the woman and turned towards Hermione.

"Meet me outside of the potions classroom...I'll be there shortly" He directed to the girl.

She nodded in response and was relieved that she had the opportunity to get the hell out of there.

xx

"What are you doing meddling with my life, you insolent woman" Snape barked at the woman standing behind her desk.

"You are treading on thin water Severus, remember who you are talking to" She warned him"

He rolled his eyes for a split moment. He knew she would never reprimand him but yet that was something he wasn't going to make conscious to her.

"My private time is mine. I brew when and how I want. I do not want a mere child messing around in my private labs poisoning the students"

McGonagall stifled a laugh; she was finding his obvious flustered state so unlike the man and it was quite a sight to see the flaming crimson tint his cheeks.

"Now, Severus no need to get your knickers in a twist.." she deliberately paused and she found amusement in the way his face contorted at what she said. "This does not need to be a 'chore' to you. Hermione is a bright girl, the best we've seen walk these hallways in a long time. All that needs to be done is a weekly meeting time...perhaps every Thursday after dinner?" He nodded knowing there was no way he was getting out of this one.

She motioned towards the door. "Don't keep Miss Granger late, or else you'll need to make sure she gets back to her dormitory safely?" she said with the sweetest smile she could.

He walked out of the room without a word and dreaded what these weekly meetings would bring.


	8. Push Me Down

**Hi everyone (whoever is still reading),**

 **I'm sorry for my absence as life has been hectic and will continue to be for a little while. I wanted to get this chapter out and I'm not going to abandon this story, sometimes the bad parts of life get in the way and a hobby like this takes the back seat.**

 **Regardless I hope you enjoy this.**

 **I do appreciate every single person who has read this and who have reviewed and favorited etc thus far, it honestly means the whole world to me.**

Hermione stood anxiously out the front of the potions classroom. The cold of the dungeons seeped into her bones and she couldn't help but give a nervous chuckle at the thought that this explained why the Slytherin's were so rude all the time.

She checked the small watch on her wrist and realised she had been standing by the door for 10 minutes and in her opinion that was 5 minutes too long. She gave a small huff and pondered the notion that him abandoning her here was exactly something the professor would do for his own amusement. She entertained herself by thinking of all the obscure things that he could be doing instead of meeting up with her like McGonagall had asked. She was so distracted by imagining Professor Snape reading a romance novel that she let out a small snort and she silently scolded herself for being so trivial.

"What on earth could you find amusing?" She was forced out of her thoughts and instead she found hers ears tuned into the light footsteps her professor was taking towards her. She gave a small blush towards the floor, not daring to raise her head.

"Answer me, girl!" He demanded. She could see the fury in his eyes. His annoyance at this new predicament was clearly evident. It stung to be spoken too so hastily and the discomfort practically seeped into every inch of her body.

"Oh it was nothing, I was just remembering a joke Ron told me earlier...to pass time while I was waiting" She muttered but still loud enough for him to hear.

He stared back at Hermione, time passed and he hadn't opened his mouth until he quickly said something under his breath and the door of the classroom flew open.

xx

It had been one too many times that Miss Granger had been alone with him in the classroom and to be frank, he was not interested in the idea of babysitting the child while she messed up potions that would take him less than an hour to complete. He had no idea what had possessed Minerva to believe this was a good idea; 'meddlesome witch' he thought.

It was either he could bore himself to death by meticulously watching her to ensure that she didn't go ahead and break another few bones, or he could have some fun, and the latter sounded more favorable.

"Well Miss Granger, seeing as I have no choice but to entertain this rather foolish idea, you'll be making an anti-paralysis potion" He saw her face contort in a way that would only suggest that she was thinking incredibly hard. He sniggered at the sight of her nose scrunched up knowing that perhaps he had stumped the 'greatest witch of her age'.

He didn't expect her to know of the potion. After all, it wasn't mentioned in the textbook allocated for the seventh year course. Time stood still for a while as he watched her consciousness only focusing on whatever it was she was trying to make sense of. He wouldn't even begin to decipher the sorts of thoughts that would flow through her mind, let alone try to understand the chaotic mess. However, he found an uncomfortable endearing quality at the sight of her eyes flickering upwards in an attempt to find an answer - something he did not take favorably.

"Ok, I've read about the potion before, I'm sure I could replicate it," she said determinedly up at him. "Will we be working on this together?" She continued on. He raised his eyebrow at the girl after trying to recollect himself from his previous thought. Taken aback by the girl's confidence slightly, "No, If Minerva believes you are capable then you have to prove you are of the standard I'd expect". He waved his wand slowly and the ingredients appeared in front of the girl who was standing by the first workbench closest to his desk.

She walked up to the ingredients and inspected them. He noticed her fingertips trail against the edge of the wood as she walked along the table. 'Stupid girl will end up with a splinter' he rolled his eyes at himself. Book smarts don't necessarily correlate with knowledge after all.

"You forgot the Aconite Sir" her voice snapped him out of his thoughts. "Ah, Miss Granger more observant than one would believe". He wouldn't say he was impressed per say but he acknowledged that he may have underestimated the girl before him. He noticed a fleeting look of insecurity surface on the girls face in response to his comment. "You can continue to brew the potion...that's if you know how " he said to the girl warningly; not sure she'd manage with applying the skills needed for such an advanced potion. She nodded her head defiantly up at him. He swallowed and nodded his head ever so slightly towards her.

He watched as she worked through the steps of the potion. He had never believed that any student would be able to achieve a potion of the difficulty with relative ease. But here she was, fully contained as she stirred the potion between cutting and adding in ingredients.

He had never really studied the way the girl had brewed before when in class. Her usual obnoxiousness unnerved him and he found himself looking anywhere but in her general direction. In the odd chance he would look she was always slipping ingredients or telling the correct method to the other Gryffindors which annoyed him to no end. But he found an odd comfort in the way she was brewing the potion so peacefully in solitude, something he found greatly disturbing upon realisation.

Her small hand was wrapped around the stirrer and he saw her smooth her hair with the other free hand. Over the years her hair had dramatically reduced in size and frizziness But if he was going to be completely honest he hadn't really paid attention to the changing appearance of Hermione Granger; after all, why should he? He assumed it was owed to magic; as every time she brewed it would return back to the size he first saw when she walked through the doors of the great hall for the first time. Personally, he preferred it as big as it got in his classroom, he felt like it was true to her, and women needed as much diversity to stay relevant in this world.

He uttered a small cough and obvious discomfort crossed his face at the thought of him calling her a woman. He excused himself out of the room and when free of the stuffy air, concluded that his empty stomach was to be blamed for this nonsense.

xx

Hermione began to bottle up the brew, pleased with what she had produced. She wasn't entirely certain she had brewed it correctly as she had never seen the brew in flesh before but she was fairly certain that the pale mauve shade it had turned was indeed correct. She mulled over why his disappearance had lasted as long as it had. Her small wristwatch let her know that it had been at least 10 minutes since he had excused himself from the lab.

She walked up to his bench and set the potion down in one of the slots of the potion carrier. She subconsciously tapped her fingers along the wooden bench and observed the room around her. She had been in this room countless times, she was familiar with every object, every bottle that lined the dark walls, and the strewn phials that were all over the room yet still meticulously placed. Personally, she believed the lab always looked like it was in a state of organised chaos, and one could say that the very man who made it that was in the same state.

But yet as she stood in front of his desk, looking out at the rows of tables, she felt the intrigue of a new perspective. She rested her body against the wooden edge and got lost in her thoughts. After all, she hoped that one day she could be looking out at benches full of students of her own.

xx

Severus Snape entered the room, about to clear his throat after he saw the uncomfortable sight of Miss Granger standing in the very place where he always stood when conducting lessons. However, he halted before showing his outward show of disapproval as he saw her relaxed features so concentrated in thought. He noticed that the bottled brew was on the phial rack beside her on the desk, and he was taken aback by how it looked perfect, even from his distant. However, he'd need to expect it closely before he could jump to the conclusion that she had produced something in one go when it had taken him 3 when he attempted the brew at the age she was at now.

He cleared his throat and yet she did not acknowledge him, looking just as transfixed as before. It was until he walked up in front of her that he saw her slowly come back to awareness. He saw the surprise grow on her face and her body flinched just slightly, but it was enough for the hand that was resting near the rack of phials to topple them to the floor.

He felt the anger rise up his body once again and grumbled, "Insolent girl! Get out of the way!". She jumped out of the way of the liquid that was oozing down the table leg and onto the ground. She looked confused at the situation at hand, but little did she know that the potion was not simply just an antidote.

He took out his wand at an alarming speed and stopped the potion before it began to multiply. After the area was isolated he grasped the sleeve of her cloak and pushed her into one of the nearby seats. "Do you have any idea what you almost caused!" His loud voice boomed in front of the small girl's face as he leaned over the desk. Miss. Granger's eyes were downcast but her face didn't hide how frightened she felt. She replied with a meek no; evidently beginning to look distraught at the situation that was unfolding in front of her.

"When not contained, the anti-paralysis potion can indeed cause a polar effect and can cause paralysis. The potion's intended purpose only works when exposed to lips and not external skin. We could have both been paralysed on that floor until someone discovered us and even longer seeing as not many have the ability to brew it" His voice was laced with malice. She nodded, muttered a small apology and resigned herself to whatever was about to take place.

He told her to leave, but as she was about to open the door to leave the lab, he stopped her with his voice "Detention tomorrow - 10 pm ". She nodded and it wasn't until she was out of his sight that she allowed herself to shed a tear.

 **Have a good day/night! :)**


End file.
